Signaling by mechanical strain involves transcriptional regulation of proinflammatory genes in human periodontal ligament cells in vitro

Intracellular signals generated by mechanical strain profoundly affect the metabolic function of osteoblast-like periodontal ligament (PDL) cells, which reside between the tooth and alveolar bone. In response to applied mechanical forces, PDL cells synthesize bone-resorptive cytokines to induce bone resorption at sites exposed to compressive forces and deposit bone at sites exposed to tensile forces in an environment primed for catabolic processes. The intracellular mechanisms that regulate this bone remodeling remain unclear. Here, in an in vitro model system, we show that tensile strain is a critical determinant of PDL-cell metabolic functions. Equibiaxial tensile strain (TENS), when applied at low magnitudes, acts as a potent antagonist of interleukin (IL)-1β actions and suppresses transcriptional regulation of multiple proinflammatory genes. This is evidenced by the fact that TENS at low magnitude: (i) inhibits recombinant human (rh)IL-1β-dependent induction of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA expression and production of prostaglandin estradiol (PGE2); (ii) inhibits rhIL-1β-dependent induction matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and MMP-3 synthesis by suppressing their mRNA expression; (iii) abrogates rhIL-1β-induced suppression of tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease-II (TIMP-II) expression; and (iv) reverses IL-1β-dependent suppression of osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase synthesis. Nevertheless, these actions of TENS were observed only in the presence of IL-1β, as TENS alone failed to affect any of the aforementioned responses. The present findings are the first to show that intracellular signals generated by low-magnitude mechanical strain interfere with one or more critical step(s) in the signal transduction cascade of rhIL-1β upstream of mRNA expression, while concurrently promoting the expression of osteogenic proteins in PDL cells.